22 



The Florists' Review 



May 10, 1917. 



age, which on the upper surface show a 

 dark brown border. The distance of 

 planting should vary from two to three 

 feet, depending upon the effects desired. 

 For color grouping, clumps may be set 

 two feet a])art without being over- 

 crowded. IMiloxes suffer in hot weather 

 because of their tendency to form roots 



at the surface. To avoid this, mulch- 

 ing with well-decayed cow manure should 

 be resorted to in June. Moderate shade 

 is also beneficial during the hot part of 

 tlie day, so that an eastern or western 

 border is preferable to one facing south. 

 For the best results, phloxes should be 

 divided every three or four years. 



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Window Boxes. 



One of the most satisfactory signs 

 of the times, horticulturally, has been 

 the great development in the use of 

 window boxes, not only on private resi- 

 dences but also on hotels, apartment 

 houses, stores and even factories. This 

 is something that both growers and re- 

 tailers should encourage, develop and 

 push, as indicated in the leading article 

 in Tlie Review for April 26. 



If you have a store, why not fill one 

 or two boxes, to say nothing of vases, 

 and give prospective customers an idea 

 of what they look like and what their 

 cost will be? 



One or two growers of my acquaint- 

 ance use boxes and vases at their own 

 houses and they find them to be the best 

 possible advertisements. Why not try 

 it yourself and see how it works? 



If you send printed circulars to your 

 customers, mention the fact that now is 

 the time to fill piazza boxes, window 

 boxes, vases and hanging boxes. If you 

 have advjsrtisements in your local paper, 

 do the same. Have good samples planted 

 for customers to look over and quite a 

 few are sure to buy. 



Get the Soil Beady. 



Procure a good pile of compost spe- 

 cially prepared for the boxes and 

 baskets. Remember that the plants arc 

 to occupy tlie boxes for several months, 

 that tliey will have but a limited root- 

 ing area and tliat they in all probability 

 will get none too much water and no 

 feeding, in many cases. Any soil will 

 not do, as some imagine. It must be 

 rich and fully one-third of it should be 

 well rotted cow or horse manure. If 

 these fertilizers are not to be had, use 

 sheep manure of the pulverized brand, 

 and some fine bone, in addition. If the 

 soil is not a heavy one no sand is needed, 

 but add a little sand if the loam is stiff 

 and retentive. Tlirow tlic soil into a 

 heap and turn it a couple of times to 

 mix it well. 



Plants for Vases and Boxes. 



In tlie April 26 issue of The Review 

 there ap))eared a list of some of tlie 

 plants suital)le for boxes. As a general 

 rule, the geranium finds most favor as a 

 flowering jdant, as it is a perpetual 

 bloomer and tlie plants certainly make a 

 splendid showing where they are care- 

 fully watered. Some other good flower- 

 ing subjects for boxes are petunias, 

 fuchsias, in partial shade; lantanas, 

 Marguerite Mrs. Sandet^' vincas, ver 

 benas, ageratum«f ^jjhtelia gracifls, nas- 

 turtiums, abutilons and the dwarfer 

 cannas. Mixtures of flowering ]dants 

 are not effective. It is best to stick to 



one or, at the mostj^ two varieties. Some 

 good trailing plants are green and 

 variegated vincas, Evonymus radicans, 

 English ivy, German ivy and Asparagus 

 Sprengeri. Good, full plants should be 

 used for hanging. The following are 

 suitable for basket work: English ivy, 

 ivy-leaved geraniums, browallias, fuch- 

 sias, particularly the variety Trailing 

 Queen; German ivy and tradescantias. 

 For shaded locations baskets of Boston 

 ferns are fine. Boxes of ferns are satis- 

 factory for similar locations. Many 

 foliage plants can, of course, be effec- 

 tively used in boxes and vases, but for 

 summer use flowering subjects are rather 

 more effective. 



Snapdragons for Next Winter. 



It now is time to sow seeds or take 

 cuttings of snapdragons where a fall and 

 winter crop is wanted next season. Cut- 

 tings are necessary to perpetuate some 

 special varieties, but if seeds of these 

 same sorts are procurable I would advise 

 using them instead of cuttings, on ac- 

 count of tlie greater vigor of the plants 

 and their greater resistance to disease. 

 There will be a few rogues when snap- 

 dragons are grown from seeds, but the 

 number is comparatively trifling if the 



best strains of seeds are bought. Seeds 

 should be sown in pans or flats and 

 later transferred to flats or small pots. 

 They should be allowed to run up to 

 flower before being pinched back, at 

 which time it is easy to weed out any 

 rogues, and if shifted into 4-inch pots 

 they can be held in them until benched, 

 which should be early in August, These 

 snapdragons will throw a crop of flow- 

 ers in October and can be depended upon 

 to bloom until the following July. 



Cyclamens. 



Cyclamen plants now are making good 

 growth and by this time should be in 

 4-inch pots. They like a fairly warm 

 house; one held at 55 degrees at night 

 will suit them to a nicety. In potting 

 use a light, fairly open compost contain- 

 ing plenty of flaky leaf-mold, and be 

 sure to keep the corms elevated above 

 the soil. Cyclamens now will need a light 

 shade on bright days, but it is better 

 to uee a removable rather than a per- 

 manent shade. Late-sown cyclamens are 

 just ready to move from flats into 2^- 

 inch pots. These will make nice plants 

 in 5-inch or 6-inch pots for next Thanks- 

 giving or Christmas. 



Nerines and Amaryllis Belladonna. 



The foliage now will be turning yel- 

 low on both Guernsey lilies and Bella- 

 donna lilies. Pla«ts may now be placed 

 in a coldframe and the water supply 

 gradually decreased. As soon as the 

 foliage has died down lay the plants on 

 their sides either outdoors, on a warm, 

 sunny bank, or, better still, in cold- 

 frames, with sashes above them. These 

 bulbous plants must have a thorough 

 baking right through the summer if a 

 good crop of flower spikes is wanted in 

 the fall. Leave the plants alone until 

 flower spikes appear. Plants recently 

 repotted will flower sparsely. Nerines 

 especially will not bloom freely until 

 the pots are a mass of roots. These are 

 beautiful fall-flowering subjects and 

 come in at a season when flowers are not 

 anv too abundant. 



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SEASONABLE SUGGESTIONS 

 FOR SOUTHERN FLORISTS 



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CALLAS IN THE SOUTH. 



Although the end of the calla flow- 

 ering season is at hand in the south, 

 do not withhold water altogether from 

 the plants. It is a most difficult job 

 to carry calla bulbs through the summer 

 season without the crowns rotting. I 

 liave tried resting them in the ground, 

 or in pots, and also digging them and 

 ])lacing them in a cool, sliady place, but 

 never with any degree of success. The 

 only way I liave succeeded is to give 

 the plants enough water to keep them 

 ill a lialf growing condition all summer, 

 :nid start them into active growth again 

 about tlie end of August. I have always 

 had better results from growing them 

 in beds or on benches than in pots, but 

 others may have had results directly the 

 opposite. Some growers throw away the 

 oid bulbs at the end of each season and 

 start new ones. If these gro\yers will 

 give the above plan a fair trial, I think 

 they will be convinced that by it they 

 can save money. L. 



CARNATIONS IN THE SOUTH. 



Although warm weather is here, much 

 can be done to prolong the floweriog 

 season of carnations in the south. The 

 glass requires a heavier shading. A 

 thin coat of whiting can easily be 

 applied with a spray pump, on the inside 

 of the houses. In this way the summer 

 rains have no effect on it and it is eas- 

 ily removed in the fall by spraying with 

 the hose. A mulch one inch in depth, 

 of any old rotted manure, will help to 

 keep the roots cool, as well as supply fer- 

 tilizer. The plants must be well sup- 

 ]died with water and syringed often. 

 Keep thrips, which are active now, in 

 subjection by using any of the standard 

 remedies. Keep the doors and ventila- 

 tors wide open day and night, except 

 during storms, of course. L. 



SOUTHERN DECORAMVE STOCK. 



Palms and other plants in the south 

 that have been used during the winter 



